Gabriel Moreno
Gabriel José Moreno (born February 14, 2000) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022.
Gabriel Moreno | |
---|---|
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 14 | |
Catcher | |
Born: Barquisimeto, Venezuela | February 14, 2000|
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
June 11, 2022, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
Batting average | .290 |
Home runs | 8 |
Runs batted in | 57 |
Teams | |
|
Professional career
Toronto Blue Jays
Moreno signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent on August 3, 2016.[1] Moreno made his professional debut in 2017 with the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Blue Jays. In 2018, Moreno split the year between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays, slashing a cumulative .359/.395/.575 with four home runs and 36 RBI.[2] The following year, Moreno played for the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, hitting .280/.337/.485 with career-highs in home runs (12), RBI (52), stolen bases (7), and walks (22).[2]
Moreno did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The Blue Jays added him to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season.[4]
Moreno was assigned to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats to begin the 2021 season, where he excelled, batting .373/.441/.651 with eight home runs and 45 RBI in 32 games.[2][5][6] On July 3, 2021, Moreno underwent surgery on his right thumb after suffering a fracture.[7] Moreno returned from the injury later in the season and was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[8][9] After the season, he played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .329 with a home run and 18 RBI in 22 games, as well as 18 games with the Cardenales de Lara of the Venezuelan Winter League.[2][10][11]
In March 2022, Moreno participated in spring training with the Blue Jays.[12] He began the 2022 season with Buffalo.[13]
Moreno joined the Blue Jays in Detroit on June 9, 2022, following an injury sustained by catcher Danny Jansen,[14][15] but was not activated until June 11, when he was added to the day's starting line-up at the catcher position and batting eighth in the order.[16][17] He was slashing .324/.380/.404 in 36 games with the Bisons prior to his call up.[18]
Moreno earned his first major league hit on June 11, 2022, a single, in his fourth at-bat of the day.[19][20][21][22] On October 5, Moreno hit his first career home run, a three–run shot off of Baltimore Orioles reliever Mike Baumann.[23]
Arizona Diamondbacks
On December 23, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Daulton Varsho.[24]
References
- Lott, John. "'Physically, he's got it': Converted infielder Gabriel Moreno morphs into Blue Jays' top catching prospect". The Athletic.
- "Gabriel Moreno Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Statistics & History".
- "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- "Blue Jays protect five from Rule 5 Draft". MLB.com.
- Armstrong, Laura (September 19, 2021). "Gabriel Moreno, Orelvis Martinez are the top prospects in the Blue Jays' pipeline". thestar.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Mitchell, Scott (June 8, 2021). "Blue Jays might have real deal in 'electric' Moreno". TSN.ca. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Matheson, Keegan (June 30, 2021). "Notes: Prospect Moreno hurt; Jansen, Kirk". MLB.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "Blue Jays promote top prospect Gabriel Moreno to triple-A Buffalo". Sportsnet. September 21, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Armstrong, Laura (September 21, 2021). "Blue Jays top prospect Gabriel Moreno moves one step closer to big leagues". thestar.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Davidi, Shi (November 4, 2021). "Gabriel Moreno Grows Leadership Skills, Versatility". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Ashbourne, Nick (November 19, 2021). "What the history of elite young catchers tells us about Jays prospect Gabriel Moreno". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Bannon, Mitch (March 25, 2022). "Hype Builds as Blue Jays Top Prospect Gabriel Moreno Arrives at Spring Training". si.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "Bisons Notebook: The wait is on for top Blue Jays catching prospect Gabriel Moreno". 4 April 2022.
- "Opinion | the Jays' Gabriel Moreno is supposed to be the next can't-miss prospect, but prospects miss". The Toronto Star. 9 June 2022.
- "Blue Jays giving top prospect Gabriel Moreno an opportunity to showcase himself".
- "Blue Jays officially recall catcher Gabriel Moreno ahead of MLB debut".
- "Blue Jays officially call up top prospect Moreno". TSN.ca. June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- Phillips, Steve (June 10, 2022). "Moreno a low-risk promotion for Blue Jays". TSN.ca. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- @BlueJays (11 June 2022). "The kid can hit 🔥 There's Gabriel Moreno's FIRST as a Major Leaguer 👏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Blue Jays fall to Tigers in top prospect Gabriel Moreno's MLB debut". CBC. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- "Moreno gets hit in debut; Jays fall to Tigers - TSN.ca". 11 June 2022.
- "Gabriel Moreno's Heroes, Helpers, Home and Blue Jays Debut". 11 June 2022.
- "WATCH: Blue Jays' top prospect Gabriel Moreno hits first career MLB home run". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- "OF/C Varsho acquired by Blue Jays for Gurriel, Moreno". Toronto Blue Jays. December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet